Dairy prices up 1.8pc overnight (+graphic)

Prices of dairy products rose in Fonterra's latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, with whole milk powder posting its biggest gain since March last year.

The GDT-TWI Price Index rose 1.8 per cent compared to the last sale two weeks ago. The average winning price gained to US$3,399 a metric tonne. Whole milk powder, the biggest product by volume, climbed 9.2 per cent to US$3,421 a tonne, the biggest gain since March 1 last year, when the price jumped 9.6 per cent. Skim milk powder rose 0.8 per cent to US$3,325 a tonne.

The latest sale marks the fifth in six where prices have gained and pushes the GDT-TWI price to the highest since March this year. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Commodity Index has also recovered from its lows this year, set in June.

The total volume sold fell to 52,828 tonnes from 59,307 two weeks ago.